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7.27.2007

The Third Day of Media Days

HOT POINTS:*OT Andre Smith (Alabama), DB Simeon Castille (Alabama) and DE Quentin Groves (Auburn) named to the media's All-SEC team. Full team listed at bottom of daily update.*LSU coach Les Miles says he regrets using an expletive when discussing Alabama with a booster club in February.----------------UPDATE @ 8:45 a.m.Mark Richt of Georgia is at the podium. His first question was about possibly moving the Georgia-Florida game out of Jacksonville, Fla. He humorously suggested the team's play a neutral-site game in Atlanta. UGA is 60 miles from Atlanta.----------------UPDATE @ 9:40 a.m.Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron now is at the podium. He opened by noting that the Rebels have directed resources toward "research and development." What does that mean? Is Ole Miss going to start manufacturing products now?

Orgeron also said his team needs to get off to a good start because they have five games in September. Ummm, and that puts you in an exclusive group why?

I can't listen to Coach O without thinking of this YouTube clip, which was all the rage last fall. Foo-ball!

Orgeron reports that he drives during most recruiting trips. When he must fly, he flies in coach. Again, let's go to the YouTube footage.----------------UPDATE @ 10:45 a.m.Les Miles now at the podium. He once used the phrase "pickle barrel" at Media Days. He's 22-4 in two seasons, which is amazing. I don't think of Miles as one of the really good coaches. He's not a tactician. He's a cleaned-up version of Ed Orgeron with better assistants, much better tradition and a much bigger budget.------------UPDATE @ 1:30 p.m.Phillip Fulmer and friends have finished their tour through the staging area. My favorite question to Fulmer came from a scribe wanting to know why Tennessee is having trouble winning at home. In Fulmer's first 10 years at UT, the team lost only five home games. Since 2001, the Vols have gone 23-11 at Neyland Stadium.

Seems like nitpicking to me. Fulmer agreed.

"In my career at Tennessee, we've played 93 home games; won 77 of them. That's 16 losses in 14 years at Tennessee at home. That's not terrible, I don't think. The big game is the one you lose."

This has nothing to do with Media Days, but this story from the Athens newspaper was really awesome. It deals with a gal who suffered a serious brain injury in 2001 and her fiance, who has stayed with her all this time.

------------Hey everyone. Media Days is rolling again this morning. I'm going to work through the day in chronological order, highlighting the comments and developments you need to know about.

FIRST UP:Rogers Redding, SEC Director of OfficialsRedding (pictured at right) discussed seven major rules changes for the 07 season. He's a pretty cool guy. I figured head officials would be a pious group of snobs, but Rogers definitely isn't that guy. He reminds me of Hal Baird, actually.

a.) Game clock starts when the kicked ball is touched legally in the field of play.IN 06: Clock started when ball was kicked.

b.) Following a change of possession, the clock starts on the snap.IN 06: Clock started on ready-for-play signal.

c.) The kickoff is at the 30.IN 06: 35.

d.) During televised games only, charge team (not accompanied by a TV timeout) timeouts are one minutes.06: 90 seconds.

e.) Following a TV timeout, the ready-for-play interval is 15 seconds rather than 25. The exception is for kickoffs, which stays at 25.06: Always 25.

f.) On punts and kickoffs, penalty yardage for fouls against the kicking team may be tacked on at the spot where the ball becomes dead. The option to re-kick is still available.IN 06: Re-kick was the only option.

g.) No defensive player, in an attempt to block, bat or catch a kick, may be picked up, elevated, propelled or pushed by a teammate.IN 06: Rules did not cover elevating, propelling or pushing by teammates.

---------------UPDATE @ 10 a.m.**Nick Saban arrived for his meeting with reporters around 8 a.m. The scene was nutty -- fans lined up through the lobby of the hotel, The Wynfrey, that plays host to Media Days. He was surrounded by his Alabama SID posse as fans basically shouted their adoration as Saban passed by. One lady got a high-five from Saban and was soooo happy about it. I was happy for her.

Television crews lined up outside the main ballroom for shots of Saban's arrival there. Instead, he was ushered through the kitchen and into the ballroom's rear entrance. That made me laugh. Gotta know the system.

**Also, Bobby Johnson (Vanderbilt) spoke earlier. He said Vandy would be better.

---------------UPDATE @ 10:30 a.m.**Saban said the three players recently arrested will be disciplined internally. He said stuff like this isn't going to be discussed publicly during his tenure.

``These players have been given things they need to do and they are doing them," Saban said. ``If they do them properly and learn from their mistakes and improve as people, then they won't face any suspensions or anything that will affect their ability to perform on the field."

**A reporter asked how Saban justified his $4 million salary. "I actually took a pay cut," he said. Great answer.

---------------UPDATE @ 11 a.m.**A reporter asked Nick Saban about the biggest misconception about Nick Saban. He responded this way: ``The biggest misconception about me is I've never adapted very well to the position that I'm in. I'm a country boy who grew up in West Virginia and pumped gas from the time he was 10 years old until he graduated from high school.

``To me, I'm still that way but maybe sometimes I don't realize that. Sometimes the things I say mean a lot more than I would intend them to be. Sometimes, because I'm a little bit shy, maybe that's misinterpreted as not being very outgoing."

---------------UPDATE @ 11:25 a.m.**Sly Croom, Mississippi State's head coach (pictured at right), is at the podium right now. A few things struck me.

Mississippi State opens the season with LSU. Tough.

Croom is 9-25 in three seasons at MSU. Didn't you think he'd accomplished more? People talk about Vanderbilt being the doormat, but that's no longer fair to Vanderbilt. This is the doormat. The thing is that coaches don't come more principled that Croom, so it's becoming obvious that cheating is the only way to win in Starkville. Being a good coach and handling business the right way isn't working.

A reporter asked Croom if the state of Mississippi has enough high-school football talent to support two major college programs. Croom said: ``I'm not worried about supporting two. I just need one." These coaches are good.

---------------UPDATE @12:15 p.m. Florida coach Urban Meyer was behind schedule, so we got a late start there. A big surprise was Meyer saying he's excited about the new kickoff placement, which puts more emphasis on the return game.

Considering he has the best returner I've ever seen, Percy Harvin, I'm sure Meyer is salivating over this development.

Meyer was asked about the upcoming text-messaging ban for recruiting, which goes into effect on Aug. 1. "I disagree with it. In my opinion, it's wrong. I mean, that's how you communicate nowadays. If you want to go back and use the rotary phone, too, say coaches can only use a rotary phone."

------------UPDATE @ 2:30 p.m.All interviews have ended for the day. I'll be adding some notable quotes as I pore through the mound of information generated this morning. Look for major coverage in the Advertiser's Friday editions: Alabama story on the front page, Florida story on the sports front, column from Josh Moon describing Saban-mania in Hoover and all the notes you could want.

7.25.2007

The First Day of Media Days

Hey everyone. I'm here in Hoover for Auburn's turn at SEC Media Days. Tuberville meets with the beat reporters before he meets with the general media, which gives us a chance to get answer to the real-world questions facing the program.

Here are a few things he discussed:

*He said Neil Caudle is the backup quarterback, though Al Borges and the depth chart say Blake Field is in the No. 2. Told of the apparent confusion, Tuberville said: "I'm just telling you how I see it."

*Said Michael McNeil will start two-a-days as a backup at safety. Not breaking news per se, yet an impressive vote of confidence in the freshman.

*He contradicted earlier reports that freshman Ryan Williams is eligible. Tuberville said Williams' status remains in doubt. He was one of the two Auburn signees involved with the Mobile grade-changing scandal. The other player, Nick Fairley, reportedly was ineligible but Tuberville said the case is far from over.

*Linebacker Patrick Trahan, ruled academically ineligible earlier this summer, has left Auburn and will spend at least one year in junior college.

**************UPDATE: Brandon Cox and Quentin Groves have met with the media. Quentin, as always, was a scene-stealer. Here was his best nugget:

Asked about Nick Saban's introductory press conference when he indicated Alabama would work year-round to dominate Auburn."I heard it. We have it in our weight room. I have it in my locker. I have it over my bed at home. I have it in my bathroom when I wake up in the middle of the night. It's what he's doing to get his team motivated.

"For him to say he works 365 days to dominate one team, though, that means you're forgetting that you have 11 other games. If you work 365 to dominate us for one game then you go 1-11, then what was the $4 million for?"

7.24.2007

Auburn update, 7/24

Hey everyone. SEC Media Days starts on Wednesday, which means it's time for Inane Questions 101. More than 800 reporters were granted credentials for this year's event. That's a record. And while that's a good thing for the SEC in terms of exposure, it's a bad thing for coaches and players.

You wouldn't believe some of the questions they get. It's truly unreal.

So let me go ahead and tell you what Tuberville, Brandon Cox and Quentin Groves will be saying tomorrow. Here are the big (and reasonably legitimate) questions.

FOR TUBERVILLE*Team's perceived lack of respect.*Why wasn't Brandon Cox voted by the coaches to the All-SEC team?*What are your expectations for this season?*Tray Blackmon: What is going on with that kid?*At least six questions that begin like this: "Just talk about (player)."*What do you think about Alabama hiring Nick Saban?*Some people say your schedule is soft, yet it's ranked among the toughest? Why?*You've been at Auburn for nine seasons now. How has the SEC changed?

FOR BRANDON*Team's perceived lack of respect.*How did you fight through all those injuries last season?*Upset not to be named to the preseason All-SEC team?*Are you still an Alabama fan? Remember how you used to be?*Are you healthy now?*Does your leg hurt?*Is your line better?

FOR QUENTIN*Team's perceived lack of respect.*Why did you choose to come back?*Is Sen'Derrick Marks going to be a bad man at end just like you?*Talk about how tough Brandon is. He fought through all those injuries like a champ.*Do you like playing for Will Muschamp?*What happened against Arkansas and Georgia last year?*Quentin, you're such a funny guy. Have you ever thought about being a comedian?

So there you have it -- Media Days in five minutes.

ALSO: My pick for Newcomer of the Year, wideout Chris Slaughter, still hasn't been cleared by the NCAA. Can I change my pick?

ALSO, Part II: I picked up a copy of NASCAR 08 for the XBox 360 earlier today. I've been looking forward to this day for a while -- first NASCAR game on this platform -- and I'll let you all know my impressions when I get a chance to develop some.

UPDATE: The game is underwhelming from a graphics standpoint. Forza 2 is much better. The deal-breaker for NASCAR 08 is the absolutely unusable online component. Some people can't connect. Some people can't play without lagging out. My box spontaneously locks up. I played some of my other games just to make sure my machine wasn't broken. Everything else plays correctly. I guess EA needs some time to get its multiplayer servers straightened out.